Gather the Ingredients for Your Easy Chocolate Mousse

The chocolate in your mousse recipe is more than a flavor: it’s the base on which you’ll build your dessert.

Chocolate mousse can be made of white, milk, semisweet, or dark chocolate, and some of the best are made of a bit of each!

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different kinds of chocolate, either for texture or for layers while working through this mousse.

Ingredients for Easy Chocolate Mousse

Here’s what you’ll need to make the rest of your mousse:

1 cup of your chosen chocolate.

2 tablespoons of butter.

4 large eggs.

¼ cup of sugar.

Simple Additions

You may also want to have a little extra butter handy, as this helps melt the chocolate down into a smoother texture from the start.

For a thicker chocolate mousse, you can replace the granulated sugar with caster sugar. Also known as baker’s sugar or superfine sugar, it’s more intensely ground than the regular variety.

While it may be less common in the U.S., it could be just the thing you need to make your homemade chocolate mousse into the consistency you’ve been craving.

You may also collect your garnish before you start. Whipped cream is often used alone as a topping for a simple chocolate mousse, but you can add any number of things, including fruits, sweet sauces, sprinkles, or chocolate shavings.

Going Eggless

While the eggs make for a smooth, fluffy mix, it’s well worth noting that this easy chocolate mousse does involve using and eating raw egg.

If you’re wary of that, you can still whip up a quick homemade kind without the egg!

Use 2 cups of heated heavy cream in place of the yolk mixture, and 1½ cups of whipped cream in place of the whipped egg whites.

Easy Chocolate Mousse Recipe

First, melt your chocolate. This can be done one of two ways:

Break the chocolate into pieces and set into a microwave-safe bowl along with your butter. Microwave for up to 15 seconds at a time, stirring between each reset. Do this until the chocolate is completely melted and mixed smoothly into the butter.

You can also set yourself up with a simple double boiler. Set a pot of water on the stove and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat and set a heat-proof bowl on top of the pot.

The bowl should be big enough to hold itself over the water without touching it. Break up the chocolate and set it into the bowl with the butter. Stir until smooth.

This is where your choice of chocolate begins to make a difference. White chocolate melts differently than milk, dark, or semisweet. You may need to alter the amount of butter added to each type to reach a smooth consistency.

Using an electric mixer on high, beat the egg whites until they begin to form small peaks. If you’ve ever made a meringue, you know just how difficult this process can be without an electric mixer, so it’s well worth having one on hand.

Once whipped, add your sugar slowly to the egg whites until fully incorporated. Fold a portion of the whipped egg whites into the melted chocolate mixture.

Once the mixture is loosened, fold the rest of the whipped egg whites in until you have a fluffy chocolate mix.

Be careful not to over-mix — too much stirring could thicken the mixture, and your chocolate mousse won’t be its fluffiest!

Spoon or pipe your chocolate mousse mixture into small serving bowls and chill for one to two hours, or until firm. Serve chilled with your choice of toppings.

Mousse of a Different Color

The best part of making your easy chocolate mousse at home is that you can alter the recipe to suit your tastes!

Here are just a few different ways to make your mousse exactly the dessert you’re craving.

Layers

Instead of a single batch, you can break this recipe into smaller batches and mix with different types of chocolate. After chilling, use the different mixes to make layered mousse parfaits!

A Bit of a Crunch

The best chocolate mousse is smooth and fluffy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add a little texture.

Slowly folding miniature chips or sprinkles into the mousse before cooling can add a sweet surprise to this otherwise smooth treat.

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Chocolate mousse is traditionally served in small bowls or glasses, but the fluffy mixture can really be put into anything you’d like!

One especially delicious way to serve this dessert is as a pie. Simply pour your chocolate mousse mixture into a chocolate pie crust and cool overnight, or until firm.